"Each person has their own choice (about touring Pak) and that's the way it should be" : Luke Ronchi

[Abdullah719]

"Each person has their own choice (about touring Pak) and that's the way it should be" : Luke Ronchi

Luke Ronchi at a presser after his 94* against KK took IU to PSL 2018 final:


"Today was a pretty amazing day for us and a massive win to get us straight to the final. The guys were pretty excited in the changing room"

"We thought 155 was quite a good score on that wicket, it was quite slow. We were lucky, a few dropped catches help and it was one of those days where the ball was finding the middle of my bat and I tried to run with that"

"We won the game and that's all that matters, no regrets about not hitting a hundred"

Are you ready to travel to Pakistan "Yes"

"For me it's just about going out there and batting. I've started the innings well a couple times, it just kept happening for me"

"With the start we had where Farhan and I both got going, I think their plans had to be changed so they dropped a fair bit from that start"

"Feels amazing to go out there and play an innings like that. It's not a plan to go out there and bat that way, by chance they bowl some balls where you feel comfortable and that gets my momentum going and then it gets to a point where you feel you can hit any ball for a four and six. They tried a few different things but I felt comfortable with the way things were going and confident with what I was doing so it was a lot of fun"

"I've been to Pakistan on an A tour on 2007. We were in Lahore, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura I think. Clean country, nice country, hot... The final was sold out in 3 hours so it's gonna be a massive crowd. I was saying to someone that I hope we don't play against KK so we actually have some support from the crowd! It's gonna be good for IU, fans, players, the whole unit we have"

"There's different things you have to go through and think about (regarding touring Pak) but with the information we were given and the time-frames there are, you can talk to different people about that and come to a decision."

"Each person has their own choice and I totally believe that's the way it should be, people don't wanna go they don't have to, if they wanna then they can."

"It's gonna be exciting for the PSL to have the players there, the majority of our players are going so that makes it more exciting as we've had the same group for the whole time"

"I don't have much for lunch! The game starts at 8 so it's a long day... I just try to relax and chill out as much as possible. I try not to think about cricket too much because if you're thinking about it all day long then your brain is fried before you get to the game. If you can turn up nice and clear and confident and happy with what you're doing, it'll work out in the end"

 

[badsha001]

Very well said, personal decision whether to visit Pakistan or not...

 

[asfandyar]

Yup a personal decision no doubt. But that personal decision should begin when a player says that he is available to participate in PSL. You should not board a "Pakistan" International Airlines plane if you want to go from Istanbul to Milan

 

[kingusama92]

Yup a personal decision no doubt. But that personal decision should begin when a player says that he is available to participate in PSL. You should not board a "Pakistan" International Airlines plane if you want to go from Istanbul to Milan

Exactly.

It's a personal decision that should be made BEFORE signing a PSL contract.

 

[Pete Rose]

Exactly.

It's a personal decision that should be made BEFORE signing a PSL contract.

I don’t think the PSL contracts say you have to play anywhere the tournament is held. Few players would sign on to that

 

[Hasan123]

Well said by Ronchi. Glad he is coming.

 

[kingusama92]

I don’t think the PSL contracts say you have to play anywhere the tournament is held. Few players would sign on to that

Yes, but this is more about common decency as an athlete.

The schedule was laid out well in advance and it stated the semis + final would be held in Pakistan. A player putting his name in the auction should already have made up his mind whether or not going to Pakistan is an option. If not, you say it's a personal choice, take your name out of the hat and leave it at that.

However, stringing everyone along and remaining "undecided" is incredibly unprofessional. This is when it doesn't become a personal choice and deserves criticism. Pakistan's security situation won't change in 2-3 weeks so the decision should be made before signing on the dotted line.

 

[Pete Rose]

Yes, but this is more about common decency as an athlete.

The schedule was laid out well in advance and it stated the semis + final would be held in Pakistan. A player putting his name in the auction should already have made up his mind whether or not going to Pakistan is an option. If not, you say it's a personal choice, take your name out of the hat and leave it at that.

However, stringing everyone along and remaining "undecided" is incredibly unprofessional. This is when it doesn't become a personal choice and deserves criticism. Pakistan's security situation won't change in 2-3 weeks so the decision should be made before signing on the dotted line.

I would say that most of these players have made their reservations known to the PSL in private. But it was probably an arrangement of ‘let’s see how you feel as the tournament goes on, maybe you might change your mind later, but if not, we will not push you’
Given the circumstances, that sounds fair, I think

 

[IAJ]

He has memories of a «clean country», hopefully he doesn’t get disappointed in that regard...

 

[shane]

Ronchi's twitter has burst into life since yesterday. Looking forward to seeing him in the final.

 

[Ali Bohra]

I don’t think the PSL contracts say you have to play anywhere the tournament is held. Few players would sign on to that

This is true.

 

[asfandyar]

I don’t think the PSL contracts say you have to play anywhere the tournament is held. Few players would sign on to that

Hint: P

 

[Rishta Aunty]

I think the reason players say they are undecided is if there's some random attack that takes place. The problem is that the world news will report an attack in FATA as a major attack in Pakistan and International players will refuse to come to Karachi. It's frustrating how we've got such a bad rep in the world media that this cycle doesn't seem to be changing soon

 

[pkckt]

I think the reason players say they are undecided is if there's some random attack that takes place. The problem is that the world news will report an attack in FATA as a major attack in Pakistan and International players will refuse to come to Karachi. It's frustrating how we've got such a bad rep in the world media that this cycle doesn't seem to be changing soon

Well there was a very recent attack in lahore , one of Pakistan's major cities

 

[Rishta Aunty]

Well there was a very recent attack in lahore , one of Pakistan's major cities

That's true, I'm not denying that this happens but it's still frustrating as we seem to have much worse rep that others. Is Bangladesh really that much safer that we are? Not trying to be pedantic but I really want to know. There have been news reports of ethnic violence in Sri Lanka and a state of emergency as recently as a few days ago. Not even a whispher about any change in scheduling or questions of pulling out.

India clearly is much safer from what I've heard, but I feel the media has a role to play here. More than anything else India themselves have a role to play; if they toured once I can bet that the rest of the boards will tour immediately. Sadly there's more chance of the Afghan war ending tomorrow than that.

 

[Buffet]

That's true, I'm not denying that this happens but it's still frustrating as we seem to have much worse rep that others. Is Bangladesh really that much safer that we are? Not trying to be pedantic but I really want to know. There have been news reports of ethnic violence in Sri Lanka and a state of emergency as recently as a few days ago. Not even a whispher about any change in scheduling or questions of pulling out.

India clearly is much safer from what I've heard, but I feel the media has a role to play here. More than anything else India themselves have a role to play; if they toured once I can bet that the rest of the boards will tour immediately. Sadly there's more chance of the Afghan war ending tomorrow than that.

Aus won't tour immediately even if India tours. Aus didn't tour for many years when India was touring.

 

[Jabo]

and this is how it should be

but questions should be raised if x players say yes at the beginning but no coming to the end because it likely will be for financial reasons (unless there has been some violence in pakistan where the games are meant to be)

 

[zafarsyed]

I think it is the wrong party that keeps getting the blame. All these agreements between the team and the agent of each player takes place before the tournament. It is the job of the organizers and the owners to address if only the players that are willing to come and play in Pakistan are selected to participate in PSL.

I personally think that the organizers have been very lenient in that regard because PSL is still in it's infancy and building the brand of the tournament is a much bigger priority at the moment and that will only happen when you have the best players from around the world playing in the league. If you limit your pool of players by asking them to come to Pakistan from the beginning of the tournament, that will inevitably hurt the quality and the brand of the league.

In short, do not blame the players for deciding to not come to Pakistan for playoffs.

 

[Loralai]

I think the reason players say they are undecided is if there's some random attack that takes place. The problem is that the world news will report an attack in FATA as a major attack in Pakistan and International players will refuse to come to Karachi. It's frustrating how we've got such a bad rep in the world media that this cycle doesn't seem to be changing soon

Out of interest, why do you think that a terrorist attack in FATA shouldn't be considered a major attack?

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The brilliant Luke Ronchi <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PSL2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PSL2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IUvKK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IUvKK</a> <a href="https://t.co/sZbSkbZ3w1">pic.twitter.com/sZbSkbZ3w1</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/975747916798332928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[the Great Khan]

Out of interest, why do you think that a terrorist attack in FATA shouldn't be considered a major attack?

the same way a major attack in the red corridor is not considered a major terror attack. Or perhaps an attack on Borussia Dortmunds whole football team. Or perhaps the war in Gaza. Or perhaps the Paris attacks and then an attack on a football match between France and the netherlands. Or perhaps a chemical weapons attack in Salisbury in the UK.

Or how about the 8000 plus dead from gun violence in the United states? Or better yet how about a full blown civil war in Sri lanka. Or the attempted murder of the whole UK cabinet in brighton in the eighties.
Or perhaps the soviet invasion of afghanistan and the terrorism unleashed in the frontier during that time.

I could go on and on. The fact is that after ten years of an unofficial boycott its now time for teams (who lets face it were never really keen on Pakistan when there was "peace" here) to help us out. The media perception is just that, perception. Pakistan can be an unsafe place for the ordinary citizen but dont tell me someone who is given presidential level security faces a higher risk than joe ordinary public. Some of us who visit wish we got great security but we dont..and we still go..

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

the same way a major attack in the red corridor is not considered a major terror attack. Or perhaps an attack on Borussia Dortmunds whole football team. Or perhaps the war in Gaza. Or perhaps the Paris attacks and then an attack on a football match between France and the netherlands. Or perhaps a chemical weapons attack in Salisbury in the UK.

Or how about the 8000 plus dead from gun violence in the United states? Or better yet how about a full blown civil war in Sri lanka. Or the attempted murder of the whole UK cabinet in brighton in the eighties.
Or perhaps the soviet invasion of afghanistan and the terrorism unleashed in the frontier during that time.

I could go on and on. The fact is that after ten years of an unofficial boycott its now time for teams (who lets face it were never really keen on Pakistan when there was "peace" here) to help us out. The media perception is just that, perception. Pakistan can be an unsafe place for the ordinary citizen but dont tell me someone who is given presidential level security faces a higher risk than joe ordinary public. Some of us who visit wish we got great security but we dont..and we still go..

Spot on. One rule for us and another for others. Its time we stood up for ourselves instead of trying to reach the ever changing unrealistic goalposts.

 

[the Great Khan]

Spot on. One rule for us and another for others. Its time we stood up for ourselves instead of trying to reach the ever changing unrealistic goalposts.

who can forget the Munich Olympics. Were all sporting events banned in Germany after that tragedy? nope. What about the Khalistan movement? I could go on and on again. Sport is meant to bring people together. It should be used to engage in peaceful exchanges. But in our region it is used for other purposes,,

 

[Rishta Aunty]

Out of interest, why do you think that a terrorist attack in FATA shouldn't be considered a major attack?

the same way a major attack in the red corridor is not considered a major terror attack. Or perhaps an attack on Borussia Dortmunds whole football team. Or perhaps the war in Gaza. Or perhaps the Paris attacks and then an attack on a football match between France and the netherlands. Or perhaps a chemical weapons attack in Salisbury in the UK.

Or how about the 8000 plus dead from gun violence in the United states? Or better yet how about a full blown civil war in Sri lanka. Or the attempted murder of the whole UK cabinet in brighton in the eighties.
Or perhaps the soviet invasion of afghanistan and the terrorism unleashed in the frontier during that time.

I could go on and on. The fact is that after ten years of an unofficial boycott its now time for teams (who lets face it were never really keen on Pakistan when there was "peace" here) to help us out. The media perception is just that, perception. Pakistan can be an unsafe place for the ordinary citizen but dont tell me someone who is given presidential level security faces a higher risk than joe ordinary public. Some of us who visit wish we got great security but we dont..and we still go..

Pretty much this. Everylife is equally important, but my issue is with extrapolating violence in areas pretty far from where the cricketers are going to come to pass judgements on the safety of a country. Nobody stops touring India despite Maoist violence in Tribal areas do they? Granted you rarely if ever hear of attack on most South Indian cities for example, but didn't England play in India a week after the Mumbai attacks?

That's my point. Why does Pakistan ALWAYS get the raw deal? The average Pakistan is just as peace-loving and probably more cricket-fanatical than the average Indian. But somehow we're characterized as a fanatical bunch of extremists in every major news story, while India is just the fastest-growing, largest democracy in the world. No violence there at all..

I'm not trying to put anyone down; I respect a lot of India's achievements. But you gotta admit the hypocricy is real! See the Great Khan's post for tons of actionable examples where we have been treated differently.

 

[hadi123]

I agree with Ronchi. Players don't deserve hate if they don't want to come to Pakistan although I feel they should as the security etc has proven to be good and tbh you're not 100% safe anywhere in this world

 

[SM1989]

I agree with Ronchi. Players don't deserve hate if they don't want to come to Pakistan although I feel they should as the security etc has proven to be good and tbh you're not 100% safe anywhere in this world

They deserve hate if they first committed and then backed out like chickens

 

[Abdullah719]

Ronchi speaking after IU won the final:

"We've got a batting order that's so strong all the way down"

"Everyone backs each other and knows no matter what, we back ourselves to chase an innings down or set an total"

"He's such a clean hitter, he's done an amazing job in the last few games - see the ball, hit the ball, if it comes off brilliant if it doesn't bad luck but we got enough guys behind us (Sahibzada Farhan)"

"I think the quality of local players is phenomenal, there's a lot of fast bowlers around, a lot of left arm fast bowlers as well and also the young batters coming through, such clean strikers of the ball, not just in our team but every team"

"Its a good thing for pakistan cricket - going forward they have a good depth of talent coming through so I think they should be happy"

 

[shokz1408]

Luckily for Islamabad he did tour, as he was probably the difference between winning and losing the game today.

 

[UN talkz]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A massive thank you to everyone involved <a href="https://twitter.com/IsbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IsbUnited</a> met some great people and was lucky enough… <a href="https://t.co/uiwuXWEbe1">https://t.co/uiwuXWEbe1</a></p>— Luke Ronchi (@ronchi04) <a href="https://twitter.com/ronchi04/status/978136830603382784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A massive thanks to u mate for not only coming to Pakistan but also entertaining cricket fans with your top class crispy contributions with the bat.Despite cricket u r a wonderful human.We <a href="https://twitter.com/IsbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IsbUnited</a> were lucky to have u. <a href="https://t.co/iQxTOC31PV">https://t.co/iQxTOC31PV</a></p>— Misbah Ul Haq (@captainmisbahpk) <a href="https://twitter.com/captainmisbahpk/status/978941637714997248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[SM1989]

3 matches held, no incidents, adequate security. Anyone who chooses not to come is now subject to criticism for unnecessary nakhre.